


The Mystery of this Fever

by faito_dayo



Category: Love Live! School Idol Festival (Video Game), Love Live! School Idol Project
Genre: (a little), (and kotori), Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, EliUmi - Freeform, F/F, HonoUmi, NicoMaki, RinMaki, YOU'RE BREAKING SO MANY RULES I'M GOING TO HAVE AN ANEURYSM, actually every chapter is a translation or name of a song with oom in it, actually that's basically the whole fic, at some point lol, everyone gets #exposed, gay...so gay, i hope people know that the title is a translation of Binestu kara Mystery haha, kotopana, like almost as gay as nozomi and eli ahaha, maki's a rich kid, nico lectures umi for 10 minutes on the nico nico nii, nico nico nii, nozoeli - Freeform, nozomaki, okay what else is there, oops lol, poor oom, sorry umi lol, spoiled it lol, the history and influence of the nico nii, umi gets #exposed in the first chapter but only a little, umi lectures honoka for 10 minutes on not eating bread in class, umi looked into honoka's eyes....and kotori, umi umi uum, you what. YOU WHAT. YOU'RE GETTING DETENTION FOR THE NEXT 8 YEARS
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-30
Updated: 2017-08-13
Packaged: 2018-12-08 20:32:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,109
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11654202
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/faito_dayo/pseuds/faito_dayo
Summary: Poor Umi is gay for Honoka and doesn't know how to deal with it. That's about it lolOkay here's the real summary:That slight feeling of being nervous is cute. (the note on Binetsu kara Mystery from Mimorin) :^)Btw this takes place sometime between the first and second season. ALSO credit to that one Danganronpa fangame Ishimaru for the breaking school rules aneurysm thing haha





	1. Even Though it's Just You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> oom is so gay for honkers

Honoka and Umi were childhood friends. Ever since that day on which Honoka had invited Umi to play hide-and-seek with her and Kotori, the three of them had been inseparable. They shared a close, unbreakable bond. There was no doubt that they were best friends, no matter how much Umi may call Honoka bossy and pushy. Up until recently, that was all that they were: childhood friends. However, Umi had lately begun feeling a little more than 'friendship' for Honoka.

 

It had all started on that Tuesday. She had been talking to Eli about love letters, and had brought up that she had no idea how to respond to them. In response, Eli had teased her about Honoka, at which point Umi turned a ridiculously bright shade of red and quickly denied any accusations Eli threw her way about a potential relationship with Honoka Kousaka. It seemed as though Eli 'shipped' them. Umi didn't understand what that meant, as this had been Kotori's choice of words when Umi had told her friend about the encounter.

It didn't just end there, unfortunately for Umi. That encounter had gotten her thinking about more than just school work and archery. No, that encounter had Umi thinking about something else she hardly ever paid attention to: love. Did she have a crush on Honoka after all? _Absolutely not,_ she reassured herself. _That would just be silly! I have no time for such thoughts._

There was no doubt that Umi was very pretty and could probably win the heart of anyone she desired, had she given this topic any previous thought. The problem was, Umi was so ashamed by anything and everything to do with love that she was anything _but_ smooth. This caused a lot of problems for her, one being her blushing profusely when anything to do with love was mentioned. Before long, this lead to everyone in μ's except Honoka becoming aware of Umi's feelings.

 

Apart from this encounter, it was just another day at Otonokizaka Girls' High; the sun was shining, there were few clouds in the sky, and Umi was practising her own version of the famous 'Nico Nico Nii' in one of the school bathrooms.

 _I can be cute,_ Umi thought, _even though it is undoubtedly shameless to do so…_

Making sure once again that no one was around, even peering around the corner outside the bathroom, Umi returned to the mirror and took a deep breath. Plastering an unnaturally wide smile on her face (and looking rather uncomfortable after doing so), she bent her middle and ring fingers to form Nico's signature hand gesture. Then, after taking another deep breath, sang in a weirdly high-pitched, cheery (for Umi) voice, “Umi Umi Uum~!”

She immediately frowned at her reflection. _It's not too bad,_ she thought. _But it's not Nico-level. Focus, Umi! You can do this!_ Umi breathed out heavily, took yet another deep breath in, and fixed the same unnaturally wide smile back on her face. “Umi Umi Uum~!”

 _Yes! I'm finally getting it!_ With a sudden boost of confidence, Umi continued her 'catchphrase': “Umi Umi Uum~! I'll make your heart pound, Umi Umi Uum~! I'm Umi Sonoda, here to pierce your heart with my love arr-”

“What.”

Umi froze and slowly turned to face the door, her hands still in the 'Nico Nico Nii' position. Her face burnt crimson red; there stood Nico Yazawa herself, looking confused and slightly worried.

“What on Earth are you doing.” It wasn't a question or a statement, exactly. Nico's voice was entirely flat.

“U-uhh...” Umi was speechless.

Nico studied Umi for a moment before she put her hands on her hips and pouted. “You know your form was all wrong, don't you? You're supposed to have both hands pointing in on an exact 45° angle! And your smile is too wide – it looks weird and a little unnatural, if you ask me. You need to smile more, Umi. Oh, and don't even get me started on your posture! No offence, but you looked nothing like a number-one school such as yours truly...”

Nico stood there lecturing Umi for about 10 minutes. Finally, with her own perfected 'Nico Nico Nii', she was done. Nico sighed. “Honestly, Umi, you need to get more used to these things before you even think about doing them on stage. For now, just stick to your 'Love Arrow Shoot'. That's pretty cute, and it's okay for now.”

Umi nodded, still unable to speak. Her words seemed to be stuck somewhere in her throat. Nico smiled and patted Umi on the shoulder. “Don't worry, Umi. You're pretty cute I guess, even if you're not as cute as the number-one school idol (that's me)! I'll see you at practice after school, okay?” And with that, she left. Without using the bathroom. Umi thought she would probably regret that later before she breathed out a sigh of relief. _Thank goodness she only lectured me! I'm glad Nico takes idols far too seriously…_

She left the bathroom and began heading back to class, lost in thought once again. _Nico thinks I'm cute...I wonder if Honoka does?_ The thought slipped into her head before she could prevent it from doing so. She stopped right in the middle of the hallway and shook her head at herself. “Stop it, Umi!” she muttered. _This isn't like you! Thinking about Honoka – or anyone - like that is just shameless!_

Back in class, however, the conversation she had previously had with Eli came back to her:

“Oh, I've got it! Hey Umi, as thanks for telling me such a fun story, I'll show you how to write a good response to that love letter you got just now.”

“Huh?”

“Okay? Write it like this: 'Thank you for telling me your feelings. However, I already have someone I love more than anyone else in the world. That would be my beloved childhood friend, Ko-u-sa-ka Ho-”

“Uwaaa! G-Geez, what are you saying, Eli…? That would just cause another weird misunderstanding...”

“But isn't it the truth? Don't worry, I'm sure your underclassman will understand…”

Umi tried to push the memory from her head. Honoka was sitting next to her, and although it was a ridiculous idea, sometimes it felt like her best friend could read her mind.

 _This will all be over soon, I'm sure,_ Umi thought. _This is just a strange day. I'm sure I'll feel normal again tomorrow._

 

She didn't. Umi woke up at 5:30 (as usual) the next day after a very confusing dream in which Honoka, dressed in a bread costume, had confessed her love to Umi, who was for some reason dressed as a whale. The whole thing was very strange and Umi attempted to forget about it throughout the morning. She didn't know how she would face the walk to school with Honoka and Kotori that day. Although, Umi had to admit...despite the dream being silly and giving her strange feelings in her stomach, it was quite funny when Honoka had suddenly appeared in that bread costume. Knowing Honoka, it was probably something she would actually do. Umi began to giggle in spite of her confusing emotions, and the more she thought about it, the more she wanted to burst out laughing. _Oh, I love Honoka so much! She's just so funny sometimes!_

Umi's laughing immediately stopped and her thoughts went blank for about 2 seconds. “Did I really just think that?” she said to herself. “I think I just thought that.”

Umi, normally so composed and carefully-spoken, was a mess over these new-found feelings. Love was something she had no experience with. Love was something she had always thought of as shameless and forbidden. Love was new and strange for her. It was like a fever...a mysterious fever.

_Do I love Honoka?_


	2. I Don't Know Love, Teach me Love!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> oom calls birb and tells her about honk honk

Umi had taken about half of the first step and admitted that she _might_ just have feelings for Honoka Kousaka. She had to be absolutely sure that she wasn't just going to make a fool of herself. Walking to school with her two best friends had certainly been interesting. To anyone else, it would just seem like a normal morning for the three of them. However for Umi, it was chaos. The moment she saw Honoka, her mind immediately went to her usual calming techniques. Although she had noticed this before, the way Honoka's eyes lit up as soon as she spotted her two best friends suddenly made her heart flutter.

“Good morning~!” Honoka sang as she ran towards them.

“Hello Honoka!” Kotori called.

“Good morning!” Umi gave one imaginary point to herself for managing to speak without stuttering.

As soon as she reached them, Honoka began giggling in the way that she did when she had done something she was proud of: “Hehehehe…hehehehehe...”

Kotori and Umi exchanged a glance. “What is it, Honoka?” Kotori asked.

“I finally did it, you guys! I found a way to sneak bread into class for when I get hungry during the lesson!” Honoka puffed out her chest and looked at the two of them importantly.

Umi frowned. No matter how confusing her feelings towards Honoka were right now, she couldn't just let this pass! “Excuse me?”

“Umm...is that a good thing?” Kotori sounded a little puzzled. “I guess it would be for you...”

“That's right! I just get so hungry in class sometimes that I can't help but want to snack on some reeeaaallllyyyy nice bread. So that's what I did! I was able to sneak some out and eat it super secretly in class yesterday!” Honoka looked very pleased with herself.

“You what. YOU WHAT.” Umi glared daggers at Honoka. “YOU'RE GETTING DETENTION FOR THE NEXT 8 YEARS, HONOKA KOUSAKA!”

Honoka seemed to shrink underneath the raw power of Umi's famous glare. “B-but…!”

“No 'buts'! There is no way I'm letting you get away with breaking so many rules at once!”

“I'm not even breaking that many rules, you kno-”

“YOU'RE BREAKING SO MANY RULES I'M GOING TO HAVE AN ANEURISM!” Umi took a deep breath to calm herself before continuing. “Honoka, you can _not_ eat in class. I will not tolerate rule-breaking right under my nose. If I see you do that again, I will be forced to inform the teacher.”

“It's not that big of a deal, Umi...” Kotori said. Honoka nodded in agreement, pouting.

“Yes it is! All rule-breaking is a big deal! That's a big no-no! Haven't we discussed this?”

Kotori and Honoka nodded in unison.

“Right! Then you both know exactly how I feel about this.”

“Next time I just won't tell you then!” Honoka argued. She immediately wished she hadn't, as Umi had swelled to about twice her normal size. She lectured Honoka and Kotori for about as long as Nico had lectured her on the 'Nico Nico Nii', before slowly giving in to their protests.

“Umi, please don't get mad at Honoka!” Kotori wailed. “She just wanted to eat in class, it's not so bad!”

Umi shook her head. “No, she has to learn that rules are not made to be broken when you want something!”

“I don't think that...I'm just hungry!” Honoka widened her eyes. Umi gulped. It was almost like she was staring into her soul. “Please, Umi~!”

Umi looked from Kotori to Honoka and back again. Kotori had always known exactly how to make her break...and Honoka...how could she say no to Honoka? She recalled her recent feelings and suddenly couldn't argue with them any longer. “Fine! Do you what you want, but don't come to me if you get in trouble!” she snapped, turning away from the two of them and beginning to walk towards school. Umi didn't know it, but from that encounter alone Kotori had realised that something was up with her. It wasn't anything too unusual, but Umi had seemed a little more jumpy than usual. She stared curiously after the other girl as she stalked away, wondering if it had anything to do with their conversation yesterday.

 

Despite her many protests that she did indeed feel quite fine, Eli knew something was up with Umi. During practice the previous day, Eli had caught the dark-haired girl staring into space, and had frightened her when she had called for Umi's attention. Umi was usually never like this; such a trance was usually something Honoka or perhaps Maki would be caught in. Eli smiled to herself as she sat under a tree in the courtyard. It was clear Umi was experiencing complicated feelings she never had before.

 _I remember,_ Eli thought, _when I had the exact same feelings. We really are more similar than I thought…_

“Eli...” A familiar voice said suddenly. “What are you thinking about?”

“Oh, Nozomi!” Eli started, glancing at the girl who had silently seated herself next to her. “Ah, it's nothing really...”

Nozomi, wearing the same all-knowing smile as always, put her hand on Eli's shoulder. “It's really obvious when there's something on your mind, Eli. You can tell me anything, you know...”

“Well...the thing is,” Eli began. “It's not exactly something I know for sure, nor is it any of my business.”

Nozomi removed her hand from Eli's shoulder. “It's about Umi, isn't it?”

Eli laughed, her eyes shining brightly with her own feelings for Nozomi. “How do you always know everything, Nozomi?”

“It's in the cards~! So now that I know who it's about, next is for me to guess what it is that's bothering you about Umi. Let's see...”

Eli sighed and decided to just give in. “Honestly, there's no fooling you. Alright, I'll tell you. You've probably noticed, but over the past few days, Umi has been acting quite strange. She keeps losing focus and staring into space until someone tells her to snap out of it. She _never_ acts like this, and I was quite worried about her until I realised she's probably just...well...fallen in love, or something.”

“That sounds a lot like someone else I know,” Nozomi teased gently.

“That's not the point!” Eli protested. “I want to do something to help her, but if I confront her it'll just embarrass her even more, and there's no way she'll tell me of her own accord.”

“Yeah, I get it,” Nozomi nodded. “Don't worry about her, though. Umi's very mature, and I'm sure once she gets used to these feelings, she'll sort everything out...”

 

“THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING TO ME!” Umi cried into the dark, star-speckled sky. She buried her face in her hands, embarrassment filling her entire body. “I can't be in love with my childhood friend,” she whispered dramatically. Poor Umi was entirely unsure on what to do. She was having trouble not expressing her feelings to Honoka, and she probably would have said something had she not been far too ashamed to do so. She miserably stared down at the phone in her hand. She had to tell someone, but who could she tell? Maki wouldn't understand at all, and probably wouldn't be much help. Eli...Eli would be good to talk to, but Umi felt as though Eli would judge her for hiding these feelings, and probably already knew anyway; it would just be too embarrassing. She stared at her contact list, and one particular name stood out to her.

_Kotori…_

Kotori was Umi's other childhood and best friend, and was very kind and understanding. She wouldn't judge Umi for having these feelings...although with her intuition, she probably already had some idea. Umi shook her head. _Stop being such a coward, Umi! Kotori will be able to help you if she knows, so just do it!_ And with that thought, she dialled Kotori's number before she could stop herself and waited. After what seemed like an hour, Kotori finally picked up.

“Hello?” said the high-pitched voice on the other end of the phone.

“H-hello, Kotori...” Umi stuttered. She took a deep breath, telling herself it was no big deal to have these feelings, even for Honoka.

“Oh, Umi! How are you doing? And why are you calling me at this time…?”

“I, uh...I have something important to talk to you about. It may have something to do with our c-conversation from a couple of nights ago...”

“What is it? Is it bad?” Kotori sounded worried.

“Well it's not bad, exactly!” Umi panicked slightly. She stared hard into the night sky. She had always found it so comforting. “It's just that...I've been having these feelings lately when I think of a certain person.” Umi took another deep breath, hardly believing she was saying such things aloud. “My chest flutters and I can't find any words to say; my cheeks flush, and my reactions are over-exaggerated. I think-” Umi was suddenly cut off by an excited...chirp. That would be the only way to describe it.

“Ahhh~! Umi~! I'm so excited for you!” Kotori cried. “I _knew_ something was up with you lately! Do you know what this means?!”

“That I'm...in l-love...” Umi said quietly.

“Yeah!” Kotori giggled. “Oh, please tell me who it is, Umi, please~!”

“That's exactly why I called to tell you...” Umi's breath clouded in front of her in the cold night air. The starts shone brightly overhead, and beneath her, the grass felt soft beneath her feet. All of these feelings slowly began to overwhelm her.

“I love Honoka!” Umi burst out, almost yelling down the phone at Kotori. There was a very long silence on Kotori's end of the phone, then…

“Umi, that's so cute! You don't need to worry about anything, I won't tell anyone what you told me. I'll be here for you no matter what!”

Umi let out a huge sigh of relief. If Kotori didn't have any problems with her feelings for Honoka, then Umi knew there was a good chance Honoka herself wouldn't mind either. She continued to speak with Kotori about the duration of her feelings, (“I'm so inexperienced!”) when Umi began to feel anxious about what she should do next. She couldn't just tell Honoka...could she? Kotori had offered her help, so…

“I don't understand love,” Umi said to Kotori suddenly, interrupting whatever it was the other girl had been saying. “Please teach me love!”

_My love is an unknown adventure. Is my heart still pure after discovering it? I want these feelings to envelop me and take me to the moon for another adventure! My desire to see these wishes come true is greater than the number of stars! Honoka, I know we've always just been friends...despite this, I want to say that I love you!_


End file.
